Voter Laws and Registration Deadlines
You must:
- Be a citizen of the United States
- Be a resident of Virginia and of the precinct in which you want to vote
- Be 18 years old by the next election
- Not have been convicted of a felony, or have had your civil rights restored
- Not currently be declared mentally incompetent by a court of law
- STRICT PHOTO ID REQUIRED — Voters must present government-issued photo ID at the polls or other ID, including Social Security, government, private employer or university ID cards, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck that shows the name and address of the voter. Voters without photo ID may cast provisional ballots that would not be counted unless voter provides photo ID or non-photo ID — such as a college ID, utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck, voter registration card, Social Security card or private workplace ID — by noon Friday following a Tuesday election.
Gov. Bob McDonnell signed laws in March 2013 requiring photo IDs for voters in elections beginning July 1, 2014, eliminating non-photo IDs, and harmonizing ID requirements for state and federal elections. The State Board of Elections is required to provide free photo IDs for voting purposes. Accepted forms of ID under the new laws include a Virginia driver’s license, a U.S. passport or any other photo ID issued by the United States, Virginia or one of its political subdivisions, a student ID issued by any institute of higher learning in Virginia or any employee identification card.
For persons who registered to vote in Virginia by mail, federal law requires them to show ID when voting (in-person or absentee) for the first time in a federal election if they did not send a copy of one of these IDs with their voter registration applications. Voters subject to this special ID requirement will have the phrase “First-time Federal” after the “ID Required” item in their on-line voter registration record.
- NO Early Voting
Registration Deadline: 22 days before the election
Court Activity
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